United Nations

UNICEF Group Criticizes Australian Asylum Policy

August 30, 2016

Citing reports of ill treatment of asylum seekers by Australian authorities on the island of Nauru, the UN Children's Fund ("UNICEF") Australia has called on the Australian Government to reform its immigration laws to provide for a "legitimate resettlement plan" that will permanently settle an increased number of asylum seekers in the country.
UNEP, Norway Sign Cooperation Agreement

August 30, 2016

The UN Environment Programme has announced that it has signed a new agreement with the Government of Norway to cooperate on issues related to the UN's sustainable development and environmental agendas.
Countries Target Climate Deal Ratification in 2016

August 29, 2016

Karl Mathiesen writes that a sufficient number of countries have agreed to ratify the UN climate deal, agreed in Paris late last year, to ensure that the deal enters into force by the end of 2016.
Schaefer: US Should Freeze UN Funding in Gaza

August 29, 2016

Brett Schaefer of the Heritage Foundation writes that, as Israel moves forward with charges against a contractor of the UN Development Programme for diverting aid funding to terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the US should deny further funding of UN efforts in the region until the organization shows no funds are going to Hamas.
Editorial Pushes More Global Aid on Climate Change

August 26, 2016

An editorial in The New York Times calls on rich countries to ramp up their funding promises from a 2009 UN climate summit in Copenhagen to build infrastructure in poor countries to help them resist and adapt to the ongoing impacts of global warming.
UN Deal Spurs City Climate Reporting

August 26, 2016

Reuters reports that the number of cities around the world participating in a climate change data reporting initiative run by environmental group CDP has spiked since the conclusion of a UN deal on greenhouse gas emissions in Paris late last year.
OHCHR Demands End to Australian Offshore Detention

August 25, 2016

Following the leak of thousands of documents relating to Australia's refugee processing centers on the island of Nauru, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has repeated its demands for the country to halt its practice of detaining asylum seekers offshore while processing their claims.
UN Concedes Involvement in Haiti Cholera Outbreak

August 24, 2016

George Russell reports that, under pressure from a class action lawsuit and a critical draft report from a human rights mandate holder, the UN Secretary-General's office has communicated its plans to "do much more" to remedy the UN's involvement in a cholera outbreak in Haiti caused by the organization's peacekeepers in 2010.
UNHCR Applauds Refugee Pledge in Americas

August 17, 2016

As the UN prepares for a September summit on the resettlement of refugees, the UN High Commissioner on Refugees has praised a San Jose Action Statement agreed by countries across the Americas pledging to bolster protections for refugees from Central America.
UN Agents Call for "Culturally Sensitive" Education

August 17, 2016

A group of UN human rights mandate holders have published a statement calling for governments to permit indigenous people to organize and control their own education systems to promote "culturally and linguistically appropriate" schooling.